Barrington Stage Announces Additional Casting for 2017 Season

Barrington Stage Company (BSC), the award-winning theatre in Downtown Pittsfield, MA, under the leadership of Artistic Director Julianne Boyd, is proud to announce additional casting for the 2017 season.

Rounding out the cast of Ragtime will be David Harris (Next to Normal at TheaterWorks) as “Father” and Allison Blackwell (Broadway’s A Night With Janis Joplin) as “Sarah’s Friend.” They join the previously announced Elizabeth Stanley as “Mother,” Darnell Abraham as “Coalhouse,” Zurin Villanueva as “Sarah,” J. Anthony Craneas “Tateh,” Hunter Ryan Herdlicka as “Younger Brother,” Anne L. Nathan as “Goldman,” Lawrence E. Street as “Booker T. Washington,” Matt Gibson as “Willie Conklin,” Allen Kendall as “JP Morgan,” Joe Ventricelli as “Houdini,” Eric Jon Malhum as “Ford,” Leanne A. Smith as “Evelyn Nesbit,” and John Little as “Grandfather.”

The ensemble will include Robb Sherman, Christin Avante’ Byrdsong, Alex Nicholson, Danielle James, Frances Evans, and Elliot Trainor. Ragtime features a book by Terrence McNally, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, andmusic byStephen Flaherty, withdirection from Helen Hayes Award-winner Joe Calarco, and musical direction by Darren Cohen. Choreography will be by Shea Sullivan. Ragtime begins previews June 21, opens June 24, and closes on July 15.

Joining the cast of the laugh-out-loud but rarely staged comedy, Taking Steps, will be Luke Smith (Broadway’s Significant Other; BSC’s American Son) as “Mark.” Taking Steps also features Claire Brownell as “Elizabeth,” Miles G. Jackson as “Tristam,” Richard Hollis as “Roland,” Matthew Greer as “Leslie,” and Helen Cespedes as “Kitty.” Written by Olivier and Tony Award-winner Alan Ayckbourn, with direction from Tony Award-nominee Sam Buntrock (Broadway’s Sunday in the Park with George), Taking Steps will begin performances July 20 and open July 23, for a run through August 5.

Mara Davi (BSC’s Kiss Me, Kate/Broadway’s Dames at Sea) will play “April” in Company, the cast of which includes Aaron Tveit as “Bobby,” Ellen Harvey as “Joanne,” Lawrence Street as “Harry,” Jeanette Bayardelle as “Sarah,” Kate Loprest as “Susan,” Paul A. Schaefer as “Peter,” Jane Pfitsch as “Jenny,” James Ludwig as “David,” Lauren Marcus as “Amy,” Joseph Spieldenner as “Paul,” Peter Reardon as “Larry,” Nora Schell as “Marta,” and Rebecca Kuznick as “Kathy.” Featuring a book by George Furth, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, with choreography by Jeffrey Page, music supervision by Darren Cohen, music direction by Alex Shields, anddirection by Julianne Boyd,Company will begin previews on August 10 and is set to open August 13 for a run through September 2.

Speech & Debate will feature Austin Davidson (The Storyteller)as “Howie,”Ben Getz (Uncaged) as “Solomon,”Edelen McWilliams (Netflix’s Luke Cage) as “Teacher/ Reporter,” and Betsy Hogg (Broadway’s Peter and the Starcatcher) as “Diwata.”Speech and Debate is written by Tony Award-winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist Stephen Karam and directed by Jessica Holt. Speech and Debate begins previews July 13, with an opening set for July 16, and will run thought July 29.

The cast of This includes Erica Dorfler (Broadway’s Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812) as “Marrell,”Mark Hildreth (American Pastoral) as “Tom,” Mark H. Dold (BSC’s Love Letters) as“Alan,” and Paris Remillard (Broadway’s HAIR) as “Jean-Pierre.” Louisa Proske will assumedirecting duties from the previously announced Christopher Innvar.This, writtenby Obie Award-winner Melissa James Gibson, begins previews on August 3, officially opens on August 6, and will run through August 27.

Currently in performances at BSC is Kunstler, starring Jeff McCarthy as the titular character, with Erin Roché as “Kerry”. Kunstler is written by Jefferson Award-winner and Emmy Award nominee Jeffrey Sweet, and directed by Meagen Fay. Kunstler began performances May 18 and opened May 21, for a run through June 10.

The Birds will star Kathleen McNenny as “Diane,” Sasha Diamond as “Julia,” and Obie Award-winner Rocco Sisto as “Tierney.” Stevie Ray Dallimore (Broadway’s Impressionism) will take over the role of “Nat” from the previously announced Christopher Innvar. Written by Conor McPherson and directed by BSC Artistic Director Julianne Boyd, The Birds begins previews June 15 and opens on June 18, for a run through July 8.

The 2017 Season will conclude with Gaslight (Angel Street) by Patrick Hamilton and directed by Louisa Proske. Gaslight begins previews October 4, opens October 8 and runs through October 22.

Casting is by Pat McCorkle Ltd. Additional casting for This and Speech & Debate, as well as full casting for Gaslight, will be announced at a later date.

Both single tickets and 2017 season passes are now on-sale and available at www.barringtonstageco.org or by calling 413-236-8888 or visiting the Mainstage Box Office (30 Union Street, Pittsfield, MA 01201). Tickets range from $25 to $69.

In addition to the previous announced 2017 productions, BSC is also proud to present the following events for their 2017 Season:

From August 30-September 3, Broadway veteran Ed Dixon(Anything Goes, Mary Poppins) brings his one-man show, Georgie: My Adventures with George Rose, to the St. Germain Stage, directed by Eric Schaeffer (Follies). The performance schedule for Georgie is as follows: August 30-September 2, 7:30pm; September 2-3, 3:00pm.

Two-time Tony Award-winner William Finn returns by popular demand with the next generation of talented musical theatre writers in Songs by Ridiculously Talented Composers and Lyricists You Probably Don’t Know But Should…They share a concert of their newest songs with the help of four extraordinary singers, ridiculously talented in their own right. A funny, charming and insightful evening, narrated by Mr. Finn! Concerts will take place June 9 and 10 at 8pm. Tickets range from $30-40.

The previously announced performance of Nobody Does It Like Me…The Music of Cy Coleman, featuring Michele Lee, originally scheduled for Monday, July 31 at 7pm, will no longer be presented as part of the 2017 Season.

After many summers of blowing the roof off of our cabaret, on Sunday, September 3, 2017 at 8pm, Joe Iconis and his tribe of musical theater misfits return to the Mainstage for a special one-night-only concert— Joe Iconis and Family TAKE OVER! These musical mavericks will make it clear why The New York Times calls them “The Future of Musical Theatre” with songs about anything and everything that makes you laugh, cry, scream, or drink. Come see what happens when The Family gets out of the basement and is set loose on the Mainstage for our final blowout of summer! Tickets range from $35-45.

BSC’sWorld Premiere reading of the new musical, Butterflies, with a book and lyrics by Kate Chadwick and music by Josh Freilich, and directed by Tony Award nominee Graciela Daniele (The Visit) will be presented on Friday, July 28 at 2pm at Barrington Stage Co., and a limited number of seats will be available to the public.

The 2017 Youth Theatre Program production will be Bye Bye Birdie, which begins performances July 26 at the Berkshire Museum (39 South St, Pittsfield, MA 01201), for a run through August 13. The winner of four Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Bye Bye Birdie features a book by Michael Stewart, lyrics by Lee Adams and music by Charles Strouse. Bye Bye Birdie, BSC’s 20th Youth Theatre production, will be directed and choreographed by Julianne Katz (Crazy For You at Lincoln Center, Assistant Choreographer).

ABOUT BARRINGTON STAGE COMPANY

Barrington Stage Company is a professional award-winning Equity regional theatre located in the heart of the Berkshires, in Pittsfield, MA. It was co-founded in 1995 by Artistic Director Julianne Boyd and has a three-fold mission: to present top-notch, compelling work; to develop new plays and musicals; and to find fresh, bold ways of bringing new audiences into the theatre—especially young people. Barrington Stage garnered national attention in 2004 when it premiered William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin’s musical hit The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee which later transferred to Broadway where it won two Tony Awards. In 2009, Mark St. Germain’sFreud’s Last Session ran more than ten weeks on Stage 2 and later moved Off Broadway and played for two years. St. Germain’s Becoming Dr. Ruth (which premiered at BSC as Dr. Ruth, All the Way in 2012) played Off Broadway at the Westside Theatre in fall 2013. BSC’s all-time record-breaking musical, On the Town, was originally produced at BSC in 2013. In 2014, it opened on Broadway with BSC as a co-producer, where it was nominated for four Tony Awards including Best Musical Revival. In 2016, Barrington Stage swept the​ first Annual Berkshire Theatre Awards by winning 20 out of the 25 awards. In 2016, BSC produced three World Premieres; Presto Change-O, Broadway Bounty Hunter, and American Son, which won the Laurents/Hatcher Award for Best New Play.